Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
by Crash5020
Summary: A novelization of the first game. Born into a family of master thieves, Sly Cooper was to inherit the Thievius Raccoonus which held the family's secrets to sneaking and stealing. Fate had different plans as a gang known as the Fiendish Five killed his father and split the book into five pieces. Years later, Sly is now ready to track them down and reclaim his birthright.
1. Opening

Paris at night. Is there any city that looks better at night? The city was home to many thieving opportunities, whether it be paintings, sculptures or jewels. But for me, the real prize lies in a place all thieves fear, Police HQ.

Running across the rooftops, I made my to Police HQ without any trouble. Dad always said that a thief's best friend was a rooftop. It was the best place to stake out objectives and move without being seen. Once on the roof, our local genius, Bentley, contacted me.

"Sly! Come in! Sly! Do you read me?" said Bentley.

"Yeah. I read you. Loud and… very loud," I answered.

"Sorry, I'm a little nervous," said Bentley. "Trying to break into police headquarters does that."

"Get over Bentley. You're safe in the van," I reminded him. "I'm the thief here. I've got to steal that file from Inspector Carmelita Fox."

"Well, count on me to be your eyes and ears, buddy. Got their security system totally scoped," said Bentley. "To get inside, you're going to have to go through a nearby air vent. Do you see it?"

I looked around the roof and found the air vent Bentley was talking about. It looked like it needed one swing from my cane to break through.

"I see it, Bentley," I said. "I'm going in."

Our getaway driver, Murray, joined the conversation and added, "And don't forget you've got me at the wheel, Sly. All you got to do is grab the file and get back to the van. We'll do the rest."

"Just keep that engine running, Murray. I'll be down in no time," I said.

This wasn't our first heist. Far from it. But this heist was the start of something bigger. I smashed my way into the air vent and followed it into an elevator shaft full of one of a thief's worst enemies: lasers. Bentley contacted me and told me, "Be extra careful here, Sly. Break one of those laser beams and you'll set off the alarms. Not to mention you'll be burned to a crisp."

I needed to go down and the lasers were blocking a straight jump, but one of the things my dad told me was not to be intimidated by lasers, there was always a way past them. Using the environment to my advantage I slipped through their laser defense and smashed the alarm. The elevator door opened and I found myself in Police HQ.

"Nice job. You're in. Inspector Carmelita Fox's office is behind the red door," said Bentley.

I scoped all the office doors and found the door, meaning the file I needed was behind that office. As expected of Inspector Fox, the door was too strong to break through.

"That door must be super reinforced, Sly," said Bentley. "Maybe there's a way to get around it."

I looked out a nearby window and noticed that one of Inspector Fox's office windows was open. Sneaking along the outside ledge, I worked my way to the window and jumped into her office. There was a vault there, which I was sure held the file I was looking for.

"Way to go, Sly. This is where Inspector Carmelita Fox stashes all her important files," said Bentley. "I hacked into the police security mainframe and discovered this vault's combo. Try dialing 9-3-7."

As expected, Bentley was right. I opened the safe and grabbed the file I needed.

"Nice job – you got it!" said Murray. "If you come down through the fire escape and head through the parking lot , we'll be waiting in the getaway van."

But before I could do that, there was one thing I needed to do first. I left one of my calling card in the vault before opening the window to the fire escape. As soon as I got on the fire escape, I heard a lovely voice that I haven't heard in a while call out to me. I looked up and found Carmelita on a nearby sign.

"You foolish raccoon! I've caught you red-handed!" Carmelita yelled out to me.

"Ohh… Carmelita… I haven't seen you since I gave you the slip in Bombay," I told her.

"Which reminds me – you need to return the Fire Stone of India to its rightful owners," said Carmelita.

"Aw, and I was going to give it to you as a little token of my… hey, you know, that bazooka really brings out the color of your eyes. Very fetching!" I said.

"You think?" she asked. "This pistol packs a paralyzing punch. You ought to try it. Might snap you out of your crime spree."

"And give up our little rendezvous?" I asked.

"Plenty of time for that once your safely behind bars," Carmelita retorted.

"Love to stick around and chat, but I just dropped by to pick up this case file. I think you had it long enough," I told her before running down the fire escape.

Carmelita opened fire at me and let me tell you… she was not kidding when she said that thing packed a punch. It destroyed every part of the fire escape as I moved down it. I jumped into the parking lot and spotted the van on the other side. Carmelita tried to stop me from getting to the van, but I guess I was a hard target for her. I jumped in through the back and Murray drove off, out of Carmelita's reach.

Once again, my gang and I gave Inspector Carmelita Fox the slip. I was surprised to see how well she took it. Finally, the secret police file I've been searching for all these years. With this, I can avenge my family and regain possession of our most valued treasure.

It all began when I was just a kid bouncing on my father's knee. You see… I come from a long line of master thieves who kept all their secrets of sneaking and stealing in an ancient book… the Thievius Raccoonus. Anyone who read it learned to be especially sneaky, which is why we specialize in stealing from criminals. After all, there's no honor, no challenge, no fun in stealing from ordinary people. You rip off a master criminal and you know you're a master thief.

Well on the night I was supposed to inherit the book, five visitors came unannounced at our door. My father fought to protect us, but the gang of villains, known as The Fiendish Five, overpowered him and ransacked our house until they found… The Thievius Raccoonus. Our family's manual of thieving greatness fell into their filthy hands. They tore the book into five pieces and split it up, each villain disappearing into the farthest corner of the world to commit dastardly crimes.

Broke and alone, I was dumped at the town's orphanage. There I met two guys who became my life long buddies and trusted crew. Bentley, techno genius and strategist supreme, and Murray, part-time driver and full time burden. Together we pledged to track down The Fiendish Five, avenge my father and steal back the Thievius Raccoonus. I knew I was about to face the toughest test of my life. On this mission, I would either become a master thief like my ancestors before me or fail and allow my family name to bite the dust.


	2. A Stealthy Approach

The road trip gave me the time I needed to study up on Sir Raleigh the Frog. As a young man, this hot tempered frog grew board of his life of luxury and privilege. On a whim, he tried his hand at a bit of piracy and found it to his liking. Raleigh, who quickly became addicted to crime was brought into the Fiendish Five as Chief Machinist where his evil tinkering genius rose to new heights. The last reported sighting of this mad machinist was off the soggy coast of the Isle O'Wrath a small island uncomfortably situated in the middle of the perilous Wales Triangle.

It wasn't hard to find a path to his base. We found a small cave that had a "Do Not Enter" sign, which of course was an invitation to me. Past the cave was a gate in front of spotlights, which meant I was going the right way. Dad always did say that if security was getting tighter, you were going the right way. After a quick climb and some speedy reflexes, I got past the first obstacles and eventually spotted a blimp in the distance. It didn't take long for Bentley to radio me and tell me what it was.

"According to my Amphibio-Positioning System, that big blimp is where Raleigh is hiding out," said Bentley.

"You know, that blimp looks more like a machine than a hide-out," I said.

"You're right, Sly," said Bentley.

Is it wrong that I love it when he says I'm right?

"That is a storm machine," Bentley continued. "It's the reason why it never stops raining around here."

"That explains all the wrecked ships," I said.

"But why would Raleigh want bad weather at his own hide-out, 24-7?" Bentley wondered.

"Beats me, but rain or shine, I'm going to steal my family's book back," I said. "And if Raleigh gets in my way… it's on."

After navigating through more obstacles and some of Raleigh's security, I found a key in front of a gate. Dad warned me about moments like these. He told me it's never that easy to find the key to the entrance you need to go through. I checked around but there weren't any traps or guards around. I grabbed the key and used it to unlock the gate blocking my advance. I guess even dad can be wrong sometimes or maybe he just never faced someone who would leave the key to their fortress right in front of the gate blocking anyone from said fortress.

With the gate opened I ran through another cave before eventually finding myself on a cliff overlooking a giant boat. I radioed Bentley and said, "That blimp looks like the most secured location on this boat. If Raleigh's really as smart as the police file suggests then that's where I'll find him."

"Wonderful idea, but you're plan is flawed," said Bentley.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because it is impossible to get near him," Bentley said in a matter-of-fact tone. "To access Raleigh's blimp, you would have to sneak through that high-voltage power-tube.

I saw the tube Bentley was talking about. Anyone who dared to get near it would be in for a shock.

"To do that, without being electrocuted, you'd have to destroy that power generator," Bentley continued.

It seemed simple enough but Bentley had more news.

"And to do that, you need two more of Raleigh's treasure keys, which are heavily guarded," said Bentley.

"Interesting," I said. "So when are you going to get to the impossible part?"

"Fine! But I warned you!" said Bentley. "I've marked the areas you need to hit with holographic markers. Follow them to your objectives."

"Thanks," I said.

What would I do without Bentley?

"Don't mention it," he said. "It's your funeral."


	3. Prowling the Grounds

So my current objective was to steal more treasure keys and hopefully ruin Raleigh's operation at the same time. Sounded fun. The first stop I made was the boat's engine room. Bentley told me that all I had to do was follow a crankshaft to its source to find the treasure key… not to mention sabotaging the place at the same time. A climb here, knocking some guards out there and avoiding fire and electricity over and over and over again, I found the treasure key and made it out of there in one piece.

I then went to Raleigh's treasury where he stored most of his valuables. Bentley said that there would be tighter security and he was not kidding. Not only were there more lasers, a skeleton shot lasers that followed me around as I had to run through a maze of lasers. After that, I had to jump over lasers while jumping from lily pad to lily pad and then dodge searchlights to get the treasure key there. Talk about overkill.

I finally had three treasure keys, but I decided I may as well get all the treasure keys in the immediate area so I snuck into the power source room for the storm machine. To say it was hot down there would have been an understatement. To make a long story short, I dodged fire again and destroyed things to get the treasure key there. I quickly stashed the key in my bag and hightailed it out of there while dodging the same obstacles again.

My last stop in this area was the library and I quickly learned the security gimmick there when a couple of rats approached nearby globes. As soon as they were close enough, guns popped out of the globes and shot the rats with darts. I wasn't in the mood to become a raccoon pincushion, so using the power of a nearby barrel, I was able to avoid everything the library had to throw at me and grabbed the 5th treasure key.

With 5 treasure keys in hand, I unlocked the cage around the power generator and smashed it into a million pieces, allowing me to get go through the tube. As soon as I was on the other side, Bentley called and said, "Astonishing! All my calculations led me to believe you would fail to knock out that generator!"

"Never was good at math," I replied.

"Well, here's a real test for you…" said Bentley. "I've found a way up to Raleigh's hide-out, but unfortunately, it is doomed to failure."

I looked around and noticed a heavily locked down cannon.

"You're not going to tell me I have to shoot myself out of that cannon?" I asked.

I'm afraid that's the only way," said Bentley.

"Now you're talking!" I said, excited by the thought.

"You're really scaring me, man," Bentley said in a disturbed tone. "Anyway, to get inside that thing, you have to steal all 7 of Raleigh's treasure keys."

"So what are waiting for?" I asked. "You show me those 'holo-whats-its.'"

"You mean my holograhhic markers?" asked Bentley.

"Yeah, yeah," I continued. "and I'll swipe whatever It takes to get shot out of that cannon and steal back my family's Thievius Raccoonus."

I only needed 2 more keys. The next place I went to was a place filled with wrecked ships. Apparently Raleigh doesn't just steal from ships, he steals the entire ship too. There were guards and laser security there but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. I grabbed the treasure key and prepared to snatch the final key.

Unfortunately, I do not have fond memories of getting the final key. To get the key, I had to commandeer a submarine and dove into a secret room where Raleigh acquires his sunken treasure. I saw the key on top of the rock in the middle of the room but Bentley told me that I needed to shoot all the treasure chests that fall down here to get it. Sounded easy enough, until I realized that I also had to keep Raleigh's crabs from taking any of them also. I had so many close calls, but I persevered and grabbed the final treasure key. A quick note: If I had the choice to do that again… I wouldn't do it.

Now that I had all 7 treasure keys, I unlocked the cannon and aimed it at Raleigh's blimp. I then jumped inside and fired myself up to the blimp. It was finally time to meet one of the five who killed my father and stole the Thievius Raccoonus.


End file.
